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Calvin News

Responding

Tue, Sep 18, 2001
N/A

The Calvin community has been shocked and stunned by the recent attack on New York City and Washington, D.C.

In recent days various events have taken place on Calvin's campus, including a Thursday, September 20 Peace Vigil that saw Calvin join the efforts of some 150 colleges and universities nationwide. The College Republicans (a student group) coordinated a coin drive with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross. And in early October Calvin will hold a blood drive on campus.

Those events follow a busy week of activities last week. For example, on Friday, September 14 President Bush asked that there be a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance. Calvin had its normal 10 a.m. Chapel service that day and devoted that time to remembering the tragedy. Calvin also had the Chapel open at noon on Friday for a some formal time of prayer and remembrance and then a more informal time of prayer and reflection as part of the national gathering.

Also on Friday, September 14 there was a "Teach-In" from 2:30 to 5 p.m. in the Chapel Undercroft to learn more about the tragic events of the last few days. During that time a panel of in-house experts gave their insights into how Christians can understand, pray and react to the acts of terrorism which our country has experienced.

The panel consisted of Randy Bytwerk, rhetorician and scholar of propaganda; David Crump, biblical theologian; Bert deVries, historian, archaeologist, and campus liaison to Birzeit University in Palestine; Ruth Groenhout, ethicist and political philosopher; and Charles Strikwerda, scholar of international relations. The moderator was Helen Sterk, media studies scholar. About 200 people came and went as their schedules allowed during the 150-minute event.

That "Teach-In" followed several prayer services. In fact, already on Tuesday, September 11, the day of the attack, the first prayer service took place in the Calvin Chapel. About 1,200 people crowded the Chapel and the lower floors of the Chapel for a time of prayer, Scripture reading and singing led by Calvin president Gaylen Byker.

On Wednesday, September 12 Calvin held its regular Chapel service at 10 a.m. and devoted that time to the attack. At 4 p.m. that day another Chapel service was held. President Byker again led the service and began by speaking of his own experiences living in Lebanon. He spoke of the complexities of the Middle East and the long histories in those countries. He illustrated that complexity by recounting a saying that was popular when he lived in Lebanon. [body photo omitted]

"When I lived there," he said, "people used to say 'If you lived in Lebanon a week you came back and wrote a book. If you lived in Lebanon a month you came back and wrote an article. If you lived in Lebanon a year you came back and kept your mouth shut.'"

Byker then urged attendees to consider as Christians how the U.S. might and should respond to the attacks. The Vietnam veteran urged caution and restraint, saying that our desire for justice must be measured and not become raw revenge. And he cautioned against placing too much trust in the concept of "security." He pointed the audience to the true source of our security as Christians: Jesus Christ.

Many who have attended the various events on campus have a close connection to the tragedy. Calvin has about 4,300 students and half of those students are from outside the state of Michigan. This includes many students from the greater New York City and Washington, D.C., areas. The prayer services and other events have been a great source of comfort and consolation to all of Calvin's students, staff and faculty. Also, Calvin's Broene Counseling Center has been made available to all members of the Calvin community who wish to talk to a counselor about the attack.

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Calvin has off-campus semester-long programs in Ghana, China, Hungary and Honduras this fall. Those students are watching the events of this week from afar, but linked to the Calvin community via e-mail. Below are some student reactions from the Honduras.

  • sense of powerlessness of not knowing how to help
  • not knowing how you feel in the US
  • concern about problems you are having (gas, airports, etc)
  • frustration of not being able to comprehend completely the news in Spanish
  • some students have cried, all have prayed
  • feeling of being safer in Honduras than in the US
  • gratefulness that the people of Honduras empathize with us
  • realizing that a tragedy has happened in our country, not a far-off country
  • realizing how bad Hondurans feel about the tragedy
  • hearing many say that this was a crime against humanity
  • concern that our government may increase the cycle of violence
  • amazement that almost all Hondurans were glued to the TV yesterday
  • being stopped on the streets and asked: "Have you heard the news?"
  • receiving expressions of sympathy
  • Hondurans praying for our country
  • realizing that although our nationalities may differ, we are really one

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